Liverpool weigh up MASSIVE transfer decision: Harvey Elliott or Real Madrid wonderkid?

Harvey Elliott was meant to be an essential part of the infrastructure at Liverpool this season, bridging the gap between the old guard and the young, new faces (despite having been at the club since 2019).

He was unfortunate at the start of the season, breaking his foot right as he was about to get his first real run in the team back in September.

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Since then his season has been unfortunately unremarkable. He’s only played 503 minutes across all competitions at time of writing, grabbing four goal involvements.

Elliott’s played across a range of positions including central midfield and on both wings, failing to particularly nail down any memorable performances in any of them.

Arne Slot’s lack of faith in his depth options, coinciding with a very real possibility of three trophies in his first season as Liverpool manager, has called into question the future of a lot of players currently on the outskirts of the team.

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And this is exacerbated when transfer rumours are swirling around for exciting young players in the same positions.

One of these is Real Madrid’s Arda Guler.

Elliott or Guler? The choice is Arne's

The 20-year old Guler was signed from Fenerbache back in the summer of 2023 as one of the most exciting young talents in world football.

He had an injury plagued first season, picking up various issues that kept him out for stretches, but still bagged six goals in 10 La Liga appearances.

But this season has seen him relegated more to the sidelines as Madrid tried to right their star-studded woes, with manager Carlo Ancelotti trying to get Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and co. as much time together as possible.

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As a result, Guler hasn’t started a La Liga game since the middle of December, only seeing 81 minutes of league action total since then. He has also only recorded 8 goal involvements in 29 games.

It’s an alarmingly similar situation to Elliott given their ages, positions and issues. So it begs the question - why would Liverpool sign him if they have their own version?

The simple answer is that Guler may be a wiser long-term option than Elliott. There’s not much separating the two in terms of actual output at the moment, but as attacking midfielders who can also operate out wide, there’s not much room for both of them in the team.

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Guler might simply be the better player. He’s shown flashes of true brilliance in his career so far, being a clever off-the-ball runner, tracking play and capitalising on second chances. He also has a good creative spark and, as seen whilst playing for Turkey at the Euros, a wand of a left foot.

Elliott, having been at the club for years, was expected to take his opportunities like a made man. This season it has been anything but that, no real flashes of the talent that saw Jurgen Klopp play him extensively in his late teenage years.

It simply comes down to Arne Slot’s personal preference. He’s seen Elliott and he’s clearly not raving about him. Guler could have an immediate impact in the Szoboszlai role that Slot isn’t too keen on playing Elliott in.

Football is a ruthless business.

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